Take Me As I Am
by Mahone-chic-89
Summary: DEADLIEST CATCH: New regulations force the skippers to have nurses assigned to their boats...how will the captains and young women cope on the high seas? *includes POV's of all four main D.C. boats!*
1. Regulations

**Well it sounds like everyone gave me the "go-ahead" to write this story so here we go! LOL! Here's a bit of background/introduction to get us started…as always ideas and suggestions are welcome!!**

**Intro - Regulations**

"Gentlemen can I please have your attention?" boomed a loud voice.

The large room full of rowdy crab fishing skippers grew quiet as they turned to face the man over at the microphone.

"Thank you," he continued, "The United States Coast Guard has increasing concerns over the well-being of deckhands aboard your vessels. The increased injury rate is alarming and the Coast Guard proposed an idea to decrease this troubling statistic. From this point forward each boat will be assigned a nurse that will stay with you for the duration of your fishing trips this year. If indeed this does work then nurses will remain on the boats from here on out."

A sudden uproar interrupted the man's speech. The skippers were shouting and yelling in protest to the new regulations.

"You've _got_ to be kidding me!" roared Sig Hansen as he shook his head in disgust.

Andy Hillstrand glanced over at him and nodded in agreement, "Yeah there ain't no way in hell we're letting a woman on board our boat!"

His brother, Jonathan nodded as he looked over at the speaker, "Yeah that's right! There ain't no way you're gonna make us have a woman on board. No way in hell!"

Phil Harris was sitting next to Keith and Monte Colburn. The two brothers were outraged and were fuming with anger at the new regulation, while Phil sat calmly muttering curse words under his breath and clenching and unclenching his fists over and over.

"Gentlemen!" shouted the speaker, "You_ will_ indeed have women aboard your vessels and if you don't like it then you can stay in port!"

That silenced the outraged skippers for the time being. They glowered up at the man as he continued to speak.

"Now…come back tomorrow evening and we will assign nurses to the boats. Have a good day gentlemen."

DCDCDCDCDCDCDCDCDCDCDC

"Can you believe this?" exclaimed Amber as she ran a hand through her long, blonde hair, "This is insane!"

Amber was a middle-aged woman who looked like she was maybe twenty years old. Her blue eyes flashed with annoyance as she walked down the dock with her friend, Sasha. Sasha was twenty-seven and had long, dark brown hair and hazel eyes. She nodded at her friend as they walked up to a large, hanger-like building.

"Yeah I know…we're not trained for this sort of thing!" she said worriedly, "This has to be the stupidest thing I have ever heard of in my life!"

Amber sneered angrily as they walked inside of the building. There were already several nurses there so they sat in the back row of chairs. On the other side of the room the skippers sat, glowering at their soon-to-be nurses.

"They shouldn't be mad at _us_," muttered a woman in front of them, "It's not like we actually signed up for this either."

"Okay ladies and gentlemen," said the speaker from the front of the room, "Let's begin shall we?"

"Shoot me now," muttered Phil Harris.

Sig was sitting next to him and he grunted in agreement, "Only if you shoot me first."

Phil chuckled while Keith and Monte Colburn muttered under their breaths about how unfair this entire thing was. The Hillstrand brothers sat next to them and stayed quiet, crossing their arms and glowering up at the man with the microphone.

"When you receive your nurse you may leave. Take her to your vessel and show her around and help her get situated. Alright first up is Jenny," said the man, "Come on up to the front, Jenny."

A young woman with auburn hair and bright green eyes stood up and slowly walked to the front of the room.

"Jenny you have been assigned to the Wizard. Can I please get the Wizard skipper up here?"

Keith muttered irritably as he stood up and walked to the front of the room. He shook Jenny's hand and then led her out of the room. Monte stood and followed them out of the building.

"Okay next, Maggie please come up here," continued the man.

An attractive brunette stood and walked up to the front of the room, her head held high as she sauntered coolly up to the man with the microphone.

"Uh oh that one's gonna be a handful," muttered Phil.

Sig smirked slightly, "What was your first hint?"

"Maggie you will be working on the Time Bandit. Can I have the Time Bandit captain up here please?"

"I'll go," muttered Andy as he stood up, "Meet you back at the boat."

Jonathan nodded as he sighed and made his way to the back of the building to leave. Andy walked over to Maggie and shook her hand, then led her out of the building. Phil and Sig smirked at him as he left and he gave them the finger in reply.

"Next we have Sasha," continued the man.

Amber gave Sasha's hand a little squeeze, "You'll be fine," she whispered, "Take care."

Sasha nodded, "You too Amber."

She stood up and walked to the front of the room, attempting not to look to terribly nervous in front of the ruthless skippers.

"Sasha you will be on the Cornelia Marie," said the man, "Can I have the skipper of that vessel up here please?"

Phil stood and gave Sig a look, "Well…least she doesn't seem as bad as Andy's," he said with a smirk.

Sig sneered, "Yeah, good luck man."

Phil walked over to Sasha and shook her hand before leading her out of the building.

Several minutes passes as more and more nurses were assigned to boats. Finally it was Amber's turn.

"Amber can you come up here please?"

Amber breathed in shakily as she stood up and walked calmly to the front of the room. Her heart was racing but she forced herself to stay as calm as possible while she waited to see who her captain would be.

Sig felt his breath catch in his throat when he saw Amber walking down the long aisle. She was absolutely beautiful. Her long, flowing blonde hair and slender build along with those crystal blue eyes were absolutely stunning. He swallowed nervously as he waited to hear who she was assigned to.

"Amber you will be on board the Northwestern…can have the Northwestern's captain up here?"

Sig felt light-headed as he stood up to meet his new on-board nurse. He held out a hand and Amber shook it. She looked slightly nervous but Sig could tell that she was determined to not let her fear of the unknown get to her. Grudgingly, he found himself liking her already…

DCDCDCDCDC

**Thank you to everyone who reviewed my last story (Love Me Back to Life). I really appreciate it!!! Hope you all enjoy this one too!**

**PLEASE REVIEW!**


	2. First Impressions

**First Impressions **

Sasha sighed as she sat down on her bed in the small, private stateroom Phil had assigned her too. She glanced around her very tight quarters and grimaced. This wasn't what she was used to at all and she wasn't so sure how much fun this little adventure was actually going to be.

"Dinner's ready!" shouted a voice from the galley, jolting Sasha from her despairing thoughts. She took a deep breath and stood up to leave her room and head into the galley. As soon as she walked in, everyone turned to look at her. Two young men standing near the sink openly gawked at her and she rolled her eyes in exasperation. She pulled her long, dark brown hair into a ponytail and sat down behind the table.

"Dude she's _hot,_" muttered Jake Harris to his older brother.

"And so out of your age range," sneered Josh, "She's more my age…I call her."

"You can't _call_ someone, dude! She's gotta _call_ you…that's how it works."

Josh smirked, "Alright we'll see little bro."

Dave and Freddy exchanged amused looks as they watched the two brothers discuss who was going to "get the girl."

Freddy smirked, "Who says you two are her type? Maybe she likes men like me or Dave over here."

Josh and Jake snickered and looked at Freddy like he was crazy.

"Yeah somehow I doubt that," muttered Jake.

Sasha sighed in exasperation at the entire scene. She found it somewhat amusing that they all assumed she couldn't hear a word that they were saying.

Just then Phil entered the galley.

"Alright knuckleheads let's eat…Ding, Dong start piling that food on some plates would you? And fix the lady a drink."

Dave glanced over at Sasha and gave her a kind smile, "What'd you like to drink?"

"Water's fine," replied Sasha as she smiled back at him. She felt her heart skip a beat when she looked into Dave Millman's crystal blue eyes. He was very attractive that was for sure.

Josh and Jake quickly ran over to the table, attempting to trip each other along the way. Jake slid in quickly beside Sasha and gave his brother a smug look of victory. Josh scowled at him as he walked over to sit on the otherside of the table. Jake leaned closer to Sasha and put an arm around the back of her seat.

"Hey there," he crooned as he glanced at her.

Sasha glanced back over at Dave who was returning with her drink. They exchanged slightly amused looks as he settled down across from her at the table.

If nothing else, Sasha knew one thing was for sure…this was going to be one very interesting adventure…

DCDCDCDCDCDCDCDCDCDC

The second Andy Hillstrand laid eyes on Maggie he knew he was in love. Jonathan had teased him about it that evening when they were alone in the wheelhouse.

"She sure is pretty ain't she little brother?" teased Jonathan, "She'll be a handful though that's for sure! She's the stubborn kind."

Andy smirked and shot a playful glare at him, "Whatever."

Jonathan unleashed one of his unique laughs and slapped his brother on the shoulder, "Aw I'm just pickin' on you. No harm no foul."

Andy sneered and muttered under his breath, attempting to hide his smile and failing miserably.

Shortly after Jonathan left, Maggie climbed up the stairs and entered the wheelhouse.

"Can I come in?" she asked coolly.

Andy smiled and nodded, "Yeah sure…make yourself at home."

Maggie sneered at that and sauntered over to the co-captains chair across the wheelhouse. She sat down and folded her arms over her chest and stared out the window.

Andy glanced over and studied her. She had long, brown hair and deep brown eyes. Her skin had an olive tone to it and she had quite a slender build. He swallowed nervously and silently chastised himself for starring as he looked away sharply.

After a few more tense moments he glanced back over at her again and cleared his throat.

"So…you alright?" he asked, hesitantly.

Maggie shot him a look, "Am I alright?" she asked sarcastically, "Yeah I'm great…I'm a nurse who's about to go into the most dangerous ocean in the world with a group of crab fishermen. I'm just thrilled."

Andy couldn't help smiling, "Aw we aren't that bad I promise. Some of us are actually very good gentlemen."

Maggie sneered, "Oh yeah?"

"Look," said Andy as he climbed out his chair and walked over to her, "I know this isn't exactly what you wanted…and its defintiley not something we signed up for either trust me, but I promise you I'll do everything I can to make you comfortable while you're here. And if any of those guys give you any crap you come right to me and let me know and I'll take care of it, okay?"

Maggie looked up at him, her scowl fading slightly as she looked into his eyes.

"Okay..thanks," she muttered quietly.

Andy smiled as he looked out the window, "No problem…I don't think you'll hate it as much as you think you will. You may end up surprising yourself. Just give it a shot."

Andy turned and wlaked back to his chair and started studying of his charts while Maggie sat in the co-captains chair, contemplating what he said. Maybe he was right…this might not be a _total_ nightmare. At least the captain was kind of cute…

DCDCDCDCDCDCDCDCDC

Jenny walked across the deck of the Wizard and stopped when she reached the bow. With a sigh she leaned over the railing and gazed out into the harbor. She hadn't really wanted to act that excited since all the other nurses seemed rather against this whole thing, but deep down Jenny was thrilled. She was an adrenaline junkie and couldn't wait to get out onto the Bering Sea.

"Whatcha doin' up there pretty lady?"

Jenny whirled around, startled by the loud voice that came from somewhere behind her.

"Whoah there," laughed a rather tall man with curly brown hair, "Didn't mean to scare you. You must be the nurse…I'm Crosby."

Crosby reached out his hand and Jenny shook it, "Oh, um, yeah…I'm Jenny."

Crosby felt slightly weak in the knees when he gazed into her bright green eyes. Nervously, she brushed a strand of her auburn hair behind her ears and glanced away.

"Well it's a pleasure to meet you, Jenny," replied Crosby as he flashed her a dazzling smile, "If you need anything…don't hesitate to ask."

"Um, yeah okay thanks," said Jenny as she smiled back at him.

Crosby gave her a final look over before he turned to go back into the galley. He glanced over his shoulder at her before he went in. She was still standing on the bow, gazing out onto the water…and Crosby couldn't remember ever seeing anything so beautiful…

DCDCDCDCDCDCDCDCDC

Sig had just finished showing Amber the inside of the Northwestern. He was surprised to find himself stuttering a lot and feeling rather nervous around the beautiful, blonde nurse. He was mentally kicking himself for acting so stupid. It's not like he hadn't seen a pretty woman before…

"And up there is the wheelhouse?" asked Amber as she pointed to the stairs.

"Huh? Oh, um yeah…yeah you want to take a look?"

Amber nodded and gave him a kind smile. Sig felt his heart skip a beat and again he mentally kicked himself as they climbed the stairs.

Amber went straight to his captain's chair and sat down. Sig raised an eyebrow at that. The girl had guts just plopping down in his chair like that. He watched as she studied the controls rather intently. It was quite a turn on looking at a beautiful woman sitting in his chair. He shook his head irritably and cleared his throat.

"So…um you have any questions?" he asked.

Amber glanced back at him, "How do you drive her?"

Sig couldn't suppress a smile at that.

"First time on a crab boat and all you wanna know is how to drive it?"

Amber nodded, "Yeah…why not? So, how do you?"

Sig smirked as he came up behind her and reached an arm around her to push the throttle forward. The engines were cut off so the boat wouldn't budge, but at least he could show her how it was done. He reached around her with his other arm and showed her how to turn the rudder.

Amber couldn't help but blush when his arms snaked around her like that. His gravelly voice was right at her ear as he explained how to control the Northwestern and she found herself having trouble paying attention to exactly what he was saying.

"And that's about it," finished Sig as he stood up straight.

Amber swallowed and nodded, "Oh…yeah okay thanks, Sig."

"Anytime," replied Sig as he gazed into her eyes.

Amber could almost read the meaning behind them as they stared at each other. Just then a loud voice echoed from downstairs.

"You guys coming down here to eat or am I gonna have to re-heat all this stuff?" shouted Edgar from the galley.

"Yeah!" shouted Norman, "Hurry it up would you?"

Sig muttered something under his breath as he turned to go downstairs, "Guess we'd better go."

Amber laughed and followed Sig down into the galley, suddenly feeling rather excited and happy that she had been assigned to this particular boat. She couldn't wait to see what would happen once they finally hit the high seas…

**Whew! These chapters are a lot of work! They're longer than my usual ones since I have to write 4 POV's, but it's worth it! Hope you all liked it!!!**

**PLEASE REVIEW!**


	3. Crush

**Thank you guys so much for all the reviews! Glad you all seem to like it so far. These chapters are quite a bit longer than the usual ones I write so I can't promise that I'll be able to update quite so frequently, but I'll do my best! **

**Oh and a certain scene with Sig in this chapter is for Emily : ) She knows what I'm talking about ; ) lol!**

**Crush**

Sasha was busy setting up her nursing station in her small, private stateroom aboard the Cornelia Marie. She was just organizing some of the bandages when someone knocked on her door.

"Come in!" she shouted.

"Hey there," said the attractive, blonde deckhand, "Just checking in on you. We're almost at the fishing grounds."

"Already?" asked Sasha as she sighed, "Wow…okay well I'm almost all set up here. I just have to finish sorting the bandages. I already got all the other…"

"Sasha," interrupted Dave as he laughed slightly, "It's okay. It's not like the second we start fishing we're gonna need medical attention."

Sasha narrowed her eyes at him, "Well you never know," she replied curtly as she turned to finish her work.

Dave smirked as he watched her. Her dark brown hair was sleek and tapered off at her lower back. Dave swallowed as he looked a little bit further down…

"Is there anything else?"

Dave jumped slightly and his eyes flew to her face in a panic.

"Huh? What? Oh….um, no that was all," he stammered out quickly, "Yeah um, well I better go. I'll see you later? I mean, you know I guess we will because we're on the same boat, so it's kind of hard not to see each other...okay I'm gonna go now."

Sasha bit her lower lip to keep from laughing as she watched Dave stammer and walk out of the room rather quickly.

"He's cute," she murmured to herself as she sat another package of bandages up on a small shelf.

Just then a loud noise came from the galley. She looked out into the hall and frowned when she saw who it was. She rolled her eyes and turned around to go back inside her stateroom.

"Josh get off!" screeched an outraged Jake Harris.

"You ate my piece of cake!" boomed Josh as he lunged at his younger brother.

Another crashing noise echoed down the hall and Sasha winced slightly at the sound.

"Looks like I'll need these bandages before they even hit the deck," she muttered under her breath.

"DING! DONG!" roared an outraged Phil Harris from the wheelhouse. He stomped down the stairs grumbling angrily as he walked into the galley, "Get the hell out of my galley before you tear it apart! Get off of him Josh!"

Sasha laughed to herself as Phil stalked back up into the wheelhouse. A few moments later, she caught a glimpse of Jake and Josh walking down the hall, sulking and muttering threats to each other. Josh caught sight of Sasha inside her room and he stuck his head in the doorway.

"Hey!" he exclaimed excitedly, "How's it going?"

Sasha smirked, "Better than it's going for you apparently," she commented as Jake also poked his head in the doorway.

The brothers both had bruises and marks on their faces from their fight in the galley. Their hair was sticking out all over the place. Sasha rolled her eyes and sighed in exasperation.

"Do you two need some bandages before you head out there?"

"Who, _us_?" asked Jake, "Nah, we're tough…we can handle it."

"Okay…well don't go out there and get each other killed, okay?"

Jake smiled broadly, "Of course we won't! I know you'd miss me too much."

"Oh, yep you got me," muttered Sasha sarcastically as her hazel eyes sparkled mischievously.

"Come on little bro," grumbled Josh, "We got work to do…let's go. I'll see you later, Sasha!"

"No you won't," argued Jake as they walked down the hall, "_I'll_ be seeing her later."

"Wanna bet on that little bro?" challenged Josh as they disappeared outside.

"Oy," sighed Sasha, "Those two just don't give up do they?"

She smiled to herself as her thoughts wandered back to Dave Millman. The older deckhand was about as handsome as it got with sandy blonde hair and crystal blue eyes, he was definitely a head-turner. But even more than that he was a gentleman. Sasha wasn't naive or blind. It was rather obvious that he found her to be attractive as well…but he wasn't pushing it. He was giving her space and that meant a lot to her. It had been awhile since she had dated a man and she was slightly nervous at the prospect of trying it again, especially while she was supposed to be taking care of these guys on the most dangerous body of water in the world. She shook her head to clear her thoughts and laughed at herself.

"I'm being ridiculous," she murmured to herself, "There's no way Dave Millman would really ever give me a second glance…no way…"

DCDCDCDCDCDCDCDCDCDCDC

Maggie sighed as she made her way up into the wheelhouse. She had just finished getting herself settled in to her new room and put away all of her supplies. Now all that was left to do was to sit around until someone needed her assistance. In her mind she couldn't think of anything more boring.

Jonathan had just been discussing the possibility of going further north to search for king crab when Maggie walked into the galley. Jonathan nudged his brother slightly as he stood up from the captain's chair.

"Well I think that's all we need," he said grinning like a Cheshire cat, "I'm going to the galley…gotta get me some coffee."

Jonathan nodded to Maggie as he passed her and shot a look over at his younger brother. He gave him a thumbs up as he descended the stairs, laughing to himself all the way down.

Andy wanted to deck his older brother upside the head. Jonathan couldn't be sneaky or sly for the life of him. His hints were ridiculously obvious and Andy found himself praying that Maggie hadn't noticed. He glanced over at her as she sat down in the co-captains chair across the wheelhouse. She was gazing out over the ocean, not paying him any mind. Andy breathed a sigh of relief at that and returned to studying the GPS system.

Maggie was starting to wonder how in the world she had been assigned to work on a crab boat. She had worked so hard all through college to make the grades she needed to become a nurse. Had she known that this was where it would lead, she would have chosen a different career field. She had no desire to be stuck on a boat full of men and now here she was, in the middle of the Bering Sea with a bunch of crabbers. For her, it was a living nightmare.

Andy glanced back over at Maggie. She looked absolutely miserable. He sighed quietly to himself, wondering what in the world he could do to make her happy. Something inside of him desperately wanted to make her happy…and he wasn't quite sure what it was. Earlier Jonathan had told him he was merely in denial. He was in love with this olive –skinned, dark hair, dark-eyed beauty and didn't even realize it. Andy just brushed him off and ignored the comments…but now they were circulating throughout his mind and he couldn't ignore them anymore. It was really starting to play on his nerves. Hell they hadn't even made it to the fishing grounds yet and he was already starting to go crazy.

"So…how are you holding up?" he asked once the silence became too much to bear.

Maggie glanced over at him and shrugged, "Okay I guess."

"Just okay?" pressed Andy as he gave her a smile.

Maggie felt herself smiling back, "Yeah…okay. Why?"

Andy shrugged, "I dunno…you just didn't look too terribly happy. Just wanted to make sure that everything is okay."

Maggie smirked, "Well thanks…I'm okay though I promise. Just, well…trying to adjust to this lifestyle. I'm not really used to living on a boat I guess."

Andy smirked, "Oh it's not all that bad. Things will get more exciting once they guys go out on deck and start setting gear."

Maggie raised an eyebrow at Andy, "You call that _exciting_?" she asked skeptically.

"Hey now," laughed Andy, "Don't knock it till you try it!"

"Sorry Captain Andy, I just don't see how crab fishing can be all that exciting."

Andy's jaw dropped and he gawked at Maggie like she had just grown another head.

"You can't be serious!" he exclaimed, "Oh, hun you haven't seen anything yet. Just you wait. When you see that first full pot of crab clear the rail you'll be ecstatic. Just trust me."

Maggie couldn't help but smile at Andy's enthusiasm. He really did seem to love his job. His eyes lit up as he talked about it and he seemed genuinely excited about setting the first string of crab pots. Her dark eyes sparkled as she watched Andy animatedly talk about his job and all the different processes that went on to catch crab.

Andy felt his heart skip a beat when he saw the excited gleam in Maggie's eyes. When she laughed lightly he had to pause for a moment to regain his composure. It was like music to his ears. Her bright smile seemed to warm the wheelhouse and Andy continued with his wild gestures and loud explanations and descriptions of the job. Eventually he made his way over to her, demonstrating how to coil a line in the process.

Maggie was laughing so hard that she had tears in her eyes. Andy finally broke down and started laughing with her. He leaned on the back of her chair for support and Maggie placed her hand on top of his.

"Oh Andy…you're too much!" she breathed in-between bouts of laughter.

Andy felt the blood rush to his cheeks at her light touch. He smiled down at her.

"See…now _that's_ the Maggie I wanted to see," he said as he flicked her lightly on the nose, "That's what I knew was deep down in there somewhere."

Maggie glanced away as she felt herself blush under his intense stare. When she turned back to look up at him, the sudden intensity in his eyes shocked her. They stared at each other for what seemed like an eternity. Just as Andy began to draw closer to her, Jonathan walked into the galley.

"Hey you two, Russell's cooked us up some food for the last meal before we head out to work," he announced before he disappeared back down into the galley.

Andy cleared his throat awkwardly as he turned back to face Maggie. She smirked slightly as she narrowed her eyes playfully at him.

"Guess we better go down, huh?" asked Andy, shuffling his feet awkwardly.

Maggie laughed, "Sure Captain…let's go," she replied as she gave him another long look before walking past him and down into the galley.

Andy sighed and shook his head, "God help me," he muttered before he followed Maggie into the galley.

DCDCDCDCDCDCDCDCDCDC

Jenny ran up the stairs to the wheelhouse and squealed excitedly as she rushed over to the co-captain's chair and sat down. She leaned up and stared out the window, looking absolutely enthralled with what was going out on deck.

Keith took off his sunglasses and gave the nurse a strange look as practically pressed her face against the glass.

"Um…Jenny you okay?" he asked hesitantly.

Jenny shot him an excited look, "What? Oh yeah! I'm great! This is so cool…so what are they doing over there?" she asked, pointing to the top of one of the stacks of pots.

"Um, well they're untying the pots from the stack so we can start setting them," explained Keith, still giving the young woman a very confused look, "Why?"

"This is so cool!" she squealed as she bounced up and down in the seat like a little kid.

Keith just gazed at the girl while she stared intensely out at the deck in front of her. She glanced around quickly and stopped when her eyes crossed over someone at the bottom of a stack of pots. Keith followed her line of sight and smiled to himself. Jenny had her eyes set on one of his deckhands.

Crosby glanced up at the wheelhouse and smiled when he saw Jenny up there watching him. He gave her a wave and she returned the greeting, her smile widening even more.

Keith just smiled and shook his head at the sight. They had just started fishing and already the young woman had picked one of his guys. Although Keith couldn't complain about her choice. Crosby was one of his best deckhands and a good man too.

Keith smirked when he saw the excited gleam in Jenny's brilliant green eyes as she gazed down at the curly-headed deckhand.

"Well this should be interesting," he muttered quietly as the crew launched the first pot of the season.

DCDCDCDCDCDCDCDCDCDC

"Hey there Captain," crooned Amber as she walked up the stairs that led to the wheelhouse.

Sig smirked slightly when he heard her voice. He turned around and gave her an appraising look with his topaz eyes. She smiled back at him as she handed him a cup of coffee.

"No creamer…I promise," she laughed.

Sig took the cup from her and gave her an appreciative nod.

"Why thank you young lady," he said cheerfully, "I just might keep you around for awhile."

Amber felt her face flush at the intense look in Sig's eyes. They had been flirting with each other for the past few hours ever since the rest of the crew had hit the deck to start prepping the pots and Sig was starting to get more and more bold with his comments and lingering stares, and frankly she didn't mind in the least.

Sig pushed up his sleeves and Amber swallowed as she felt her heart skip a beat at the sight. Everything this man did drove her mad. Sig glanced at her from head to toe as she hovered next to him.

"You could really use another seat over here," she commented as she glanced across the wheelhouse to the co-captain's chair, "That one's too far away."

Sig smirked, "Well until now there wasn't anyone on this boat I wanted sitting next to me to be perfectly honest.

Amber smiled sheepishly and glanced away for a brief second. When she looked back at Sig she felt her heart do a quick flip when she saw the darker gleam in his blue eyes.

"But…if you really want to sit down," he said as he patted his lap.

Amber felt her face immediately turn a deep shade of red. She swallowed nervously and bit her lower lip, a sight that drove Sig absolutely mad.

"Are…are you sure?"

Sig gave her a look, "Yeah…I'm sure."

Amber approached him and turned to sit down on his lap. Sig snaked an arm around her waist as she settled down. Her long blonde hair brushed across his face. It smelled like honey and Sig closed his eyes for a brief moment, lost in her scent. She gazed out the wheelhouse window and smiled to herself. Although she barely knew this man, she did know one thing…she was falling for him very, very quickly…

DCDCDCDC

**Whew! That was a long one! Hope you enjoyed it!!! I'll get started on the next one right away…not sure when I'll be able to update it though now that the weekend's over and these chapters require a lot more work, but I'll do my best! **

**PLEASE REVIEW!!! **


	4. Deeper

**Thanks so much for all the reviews!! I'm glad everyone seems to like the guys I chose for this one!! **

**Just a little side note: some of these relationships will progress very rapidly, while others may be more difficult and take more time. I wanted to make each one a bit more unique than the others, not all just easy going romance. And the ones that may seem the most easy going may have a few bumps later on…again thanks for the reviews!!!**

**Deeper**

"Alright boys," boomed Phil over the loud hailer, "We got two hours till we head up to where I want to set the next string. Head inside, get a bite to eat, rest and get ready for round two."

Sasha was busy cooking away on the stove in the galley when the guys rushed in.

"Man I could eat a horse I'm so hungry!" announced Freddy as he rubbed his stomach.

Josh sneered at Freddy and shook his head, "Dude you're _always_ hungry!"

Freddy punched Josh on the shoulder as he skirted away from him. Jake joined the small battle and jumped on Josh's back. Freddy laughed hysterically at the sight just as Dave walked into the room. He raised an eyebrow and shook his head at the sight as he walked over to Sasha. The rest of the crew just continued their play fight, Jake howling with fear and excitement as Josh through him off of his back and onto the floor. Freddy's wicked laugh echoed in the galley as Dave approached Sasha.

She was facing away from him, smirking to herself as she stirred the soup and wondering how in the world she got assigned to this boat full of crazy men. Just then she felt someone's breath tickle her neck.

"Hey there," murmured Dave into her ear, "How's it coming?"

Sasha felt a shiver go down her spine at the sound of his gravelly voice. She glanced back at him and froze when she realized that they were mere centimeters away from one another. Swallowing, she turned back to the food, feeling her face flush with heat.

"Um, it's good…I mean I think it is anyway," she stammered out quickly.

Dave smiled to himself when he realized how quickly he had unnerved her. This girl was driving him insane and he didn't even realize what he was doing until he did it. He placed a hand lightly on her hip and drew closer to her.

Sasha felt a sudden warmth course through her entire body at his touch. Her heart began to race as his gravelly voice sounded in her ear yet again.

"Need any help?" he asked innocently.

When Sasha turned to look at him she saw the devilish look gleaming in his crystal eyes and she laughed as she pushed him away.

"David Millman!" she exclaimed, "Are you coming on to me?"

Dave didn't take his eyes off her face, "And what if I was?"

Sasha gaped in surprise and just stood there in the middle of the galley with a spoon in her hand. Dave smiled at the sight as he watched her search for the right words to answer his rather forward comment.

"Um…well, I don't know you that well yet, but um, well…you are rather attractive and well…"

Dave smirked as he ran a finger across her jaw, "And I find you to be rather attractive as well," he murmured quietly.

"Ow! Josh!"

Jake's screech of pain jolted Dave and Sasha from their intimate moment. Sasha looked over at the group of rowdy deckhands piled on top of one another near the galley table. Jake was squished at the bottom of the pile and he was begging them to get off.

"Josh! I…can't…breathe!" cried Jake.

"Okay guys, that's enough," announced Sasha as she walked over to them, "Everyone get off Jake before you kill the poor kid."

Grudgingly the deckhands stood up and sat down at the table. Sasha helped Jake up from the ground and gave Sasha an appreciative nod.

"Thanks," he mumbled as he stretched his aching muscles, "I thought I was gonna die…I think you saved my life!"

Sasha rolled her eyes at that and turned to go back to the counter where Dave was already beginning to put food onto plates and bowls. She smiled at him and gave him an appreciative look. Dave flashed her one of his killer smiles and she felt something inside of her beginning to melt…

DCDCDCDCDCDCDCDC

Maggie found herself wandering back up into the wheelhouse yet again. There wasn't a whole lot for her to do inside the boat when the guys were out on deck working and she was beginning to get a bit bored. That and the fact that Andy was taking a shift at the wheel might have been part of her motivation for walking up these stairs.

Andy Hillstrand yawned as he looked down at the deck. His guys were getting ready to haul the first pot of the season and while he was excited about it, he was also rather tired. He hadn't gotten much sleep lately, mostly because of a certain young woman. Since she had set foot on this boat her face hadn't been able to leave his mind for a second. He was beginning to grow frustrated with himself. He never let a woman get to him like this before in his life.

Just then he heard footsteps coming up the stairs. He turned around and couldn't help the smile that spread across his face when he saw Maggie's face.

"Hey," she said quietly, offering him a slight smile, "Sorry…I don't mean to bother you. I just got bored down there so I thought I'd come up here for a bit if that's okay."

"Oh yeah sure," said Andy as he nodded to the co-captain's chair, "Knock yourself out. We're about to pull up the first pot of the season."

Maggie shot him a coy look, "Isn't this the part where it's supposed to get exciting?"

Andy smirked, "Like I said…don't knock it till you try it."

Maggie rolled her eyes and looked out on the deck, "Yeah it's real thrilling," she muttered sarcastically, "Guys running around in orange rain gear. I'm absolutely enthralled."

"Young lady don't you make me come over there!" warned Andy with a playful smile.

Maggie shot him a challenging look, "Like you would!"

Andy raised an eyebrow at that, "Oh really?"

"Really," Maggie shot back, still glaring at him with a playful gleam in her eyes.

Andy gave one last look at the guys on deck and then turned around and charged at Maggie. She squealed in fear as he grabbed her and picked her up out of her seat and spun her around. Maggie laughed hysterically as he finally sat her back down and tickled her until she cried.

"Ah! Andy! Okay, stop!" she cried, "I'll be happy….I promise!"

Andy laughed as he finally backed off, "There we go!" he announced as he retreated back to his own chair, "Now…look, they're hauling the first pot."

Maggie scowled playfully at him as she turned to look out the wheelhouse window. Sure enough a pot was being pulled out of the water. Andy gave a whoop of excitement as the pot cleared the rail. Maggie's eyes flew open in astonishment. The massive metal pot was full of large, red king crab. She had never seen anything like it before in her life. She smiled when she saw the deckhands start jumping up and down as they dumped the crab onto the sorting table. Russell held up a rather large crab to show it to Andy.

"That thing is _huge_!" exclaimed Maggie as she shot Andy an astonished look.

Andy had a wild gleam in his eyes as he looked back at her, "Told you! Did I not tell you how awesome this is?"

Maggie laughed as Andy shouted and screamed into the loud hailer. The crew was going nuts down on the deck and Maggie suddenly found herself getting caught up in the moment…

DCDCDCDCDCDCDCDCDCDC

Jenny was staring out the window of the wheelhouse of the Wizard, gazing out onto the deck with a look of longing and desperation. At first Keith thought she was just staring at Crosby, but then he realized that she was watching the guys carefully as they set and hauled gear. She was studying every movement and every step in the process with utter fascination.

Suddenly Jenny turned to face him, her brilliant green eyes sparkling as she gave him a hopeful look.

"Do you think I could go out on deck?" she asked rather excitedly.

Keith whirled around in his chair and gave the nurse an openly shocked look, "You want to go out _there_?" he asked as he jutted one thumb in the direction of the deck just as a wave came over the starboard rail and swamped the deck.

Jenny just nodded, her eyes growing wider with excitement as the wave washed off the deck, "Yeah why not? I mean it's not like I'm really doing anything in here. No one's hurt so no one needs me at the moment…so I figured maybe I could be a bit more helpful out on deck? Maybe do bait duty?"

Keith raised an eyebrow at Jenny and shook his head, "You are insane you know that? I mean here you are, a nurse forced to work on a crab boat in the middle of the Bering Sea and all you want to do is go out _there_?"

"Yeah…I mean, I'm sort of an adrenalin junkie to be perfectly honest," confessed Jenny as she brushed a strand of wavy, auburn hair behind her ear, "And, well this is the ultimate rush right?"

Keith gave her a long, contemplative look before he turned and grabbed the loud hailer.

"Hey guys…Jenny's coming out on deck to do bait duty. Keep an eye on her and be nice."

The crew started whooping and whistling the second Jenny appeared on the deck.

"Nurse on deck!" they shouted to one another, acting like goofy little boys.

Jenny rolled her eyes at them as she turned to the baiting station. Crosby made his way over to her and smiled when she looked up and made eye contact with him. He felt his heart do a little pitter-patter as her brilliant green eyes gazed up at him.

"Want me to show you how it's done?" he offered after a moment, flashing her one of his heart-stopping smiles.

Jenny nodded as she felt herself blush slightly, "Um, yeah I'd like that. Thanks, Crosby."

"No problem," he replied as he started showing her how to fill the bags and how to hook a cod fish. Jenny grimaced slightly as he slid the metal hook through the eyes of the cod. She gritted her teeth and squared her shoulders. She was determined to prove to the guys that she could handle this and puking because of a stupid cod fish certainly wouldn't do that.

"So…how are you?" asked Crosby as he and Jenny started filling the bait bags together.

Jenny looked up at him and smiled, "I'm doing alright…great actually now that I'm on deck. I've been watching you guys and I couldn't take it anymore so I finally asked Keith if I could come out here. Honestly I think the only reason he said yes to the idea was because I've practically been breathing down his neck up there in the wheelhouse."

Crosby laughed, "So you're the adventurous type?"

"Very much so," smirked Jenny as she hip-checked him lightly, causing Crosby to stumble a little as the boat rolled with the waves.

"Oh is that how you want to play?" he asked as a playful gleam entered his eyes, "Alright then…"

He hip-checked her back, causing her to fly wildly to the side. She caught herself and turned around to give him a playful glare.

"You're messin' with the big boys now," laughed Crosby, "Better watch yourself!"

She slinked up to him and looked up in his eyes. They were only a few inches apart and Crosby felt his heart stop for a moment.

"Maybe I don't want to watch myself," she murmured as she gazed up into his dark eyes.

"Hey when you all are done flirting, we've got work to do!" shouted one of the deckhands standing near the launcher.

Crosby sneered at him and turned back to Jenny.

"Guess we better hurry up," he mumbled sheepishly.

Jenny just smiled at him and nodded, "Yeah…I guess so."

DCDCDCDCDCDCDCDCDCDCDC

Sig Hansen felt as if he had died and gone to heaven as Amber turned around on his lap to face him. She swung a leg over, straddling him in his chair. Sig swallowed and forced himself to keep breathing as she leaned down and looked deep into his eyes.

"Sig Hansen I think you are the most attractive man I have ever met in my entire life," she said quietly.

Sig's grin went from one ear to the other at the sound of that, 'Oh is that so?" he asked, his voice cracking slightly.

Amber nodded as she laughed, "Yes…it is."

Sig acted on impulse. Without a moment's hesitation he reached up and snaked his hands through her hair and pulled her into him, kissing her like there was no tomorrow. Amber responded as her hands played with the soft hair at the nape of his neck. Just then, there was loud shouting coming from the deck below them. Sig pulled reluctantly away from Amber. She quickly got off of his lap and they both turned to look out the back window.

Edgar had a flamethrower and was chasing Jake Anderson around the table with it.

"Edgar! No!" screamed Jake as he fled from the mad deck boss, "I'm sorry! I won't put cod fish in your bunk ever again, I swear!"

"Too late junior!" responded Edgar with a wicked laugh, "It's payback time!"

The rest of the crew was watching from the rail, howling with laughter as the young deckhand screeched in fear and Edgar laughed evilly.

"Oh you've got to be kidding me," muttered Sig under his breath.

Amber tried desperately to stifle her laugh as she watched the spectacle going on outside. Sig turned around and narrowed his eyes playfully at her.

"Don't encourage them," he said as he stood up to walk outside.

Amber watched as Sig walked out onto the rail and leaned over it to shout at his crazy younger brother.

"Edgar!" he roared.

Immediately Edgar and Jake stopped running around. Edgar turned off the flame thrower and hid it behind his back, doing his best to look innocent.

"What?" he asked, looking confused.

"What the hell are you doing with a flame thrower on deck?" asked Sig, sounding stern.

"What flame thrower?" asked Edgar innocently.

Jake glowered at him, "The one behind your back!"

Edgar shot the younger deckhand a glare that promised further revenge at a later time, and Jake cringed at the sight.

"Edgar," warned Sig.

Edgar pulled the flame thrower out from behind his back and looked up at Sig. He had his hand outstretched and was beckoning Edgar over to him.

"Come on…hand it over."

Edgar gaped in horror, "What? Why? I wasn't setting any_thing_ on fire…just Jake!"

Sig narrowed his eyes and Edgar signed in resignation as he slowly ascended the outside stairs and handed the flame thrower to his brother.

"Thank you," said Sig curtly as he turned and went back inside, leaving Edgar to sulk as they neared the next string.

Amber was crying she was laughing so hard. Sig couldn't help but smirk a little when he saw her.

"It's not that funny," he muttered as he put the flame thrower in one of the cabinets above where he kept the maps and charts.

"Oh, Sig lighten up," replied Amber as she walked over to him and wrapped her arms around his neck, "It was too funny, you know it."

Sig grumbled and Amber leaned up to kiss him, silencing his negativity. He smirked at her and sighed, "Now…where were we?"

DCDCDCDCDCDC

**Thanks so much for the reviews!!!**


	5. Promises

**Thanks for all the reviews!!**

**Just FYI this chapter will have some more intimate scenes…I won't go too far though because I don't want to offend any readers, but still just a word of caution if you don't like it don't read it!**

**Promises**

Sasha walked quietly down the hall, tip-toeing so as not to wake the other deckhands as she slid into one of the staterooms.

"Dave," she hissed.

Suddenly a hand clamped tightly over her mouth. Sasha's eyes grew wide with fear but she relaxed a moment later when she heard a familiar voice whispering in her ear.

"Shh," said Dave as he glanced at the sleeping forms of Josh and Murray, "Come on."

Sasha felt her cheeks flush as Dave grabbed her hand and led her into the galley.

"You told me to come get you when everyone went to sleep," explained Sasha as Dave closed the door behind them.

"Yeah…I know," replied Dave with a smirk.

"So…what did you need?" Sasha asked, glancing away nervously.

Dave walked over and pulled her chin up so she would look him in the eyes.

"Well, I wanted to talk about earlier…when we were having a little conversation before we were rudely interrupted by those two psychotic brothers."

Sasha laughed at that, "Oh yeah…that," she replied as she looked away again.

"Hey now, none of that," growled Dave as he lifted her chin again, "I want you to look at me when I talk to you."

Sasha shivered slightly at the almost animal-like look in Dave's eyes. She nodded and looked up at him obediently. Dave felt his knees grow weak as he stared down at her.

"So I know that we don't know each other that well, but I do know one thing Sasha," he said quietly, "You are the most beautiful woman I have ever met. And it's been awhile since I've felt this way about anyone so I know there's something special about you. I can see it."

Sasha was trying to force herself not to tremble under his intense blue gaze and was failing miserably.

"R…really?" she stammered breathlessly.

Dave smiled, "Yeah…really."

"Oh…well, Dave I must say that I find you extremely attractive," replied Sasha, feeling her face flush as she told him how she felt, "And it's been a long time for me too. I do a real good job at picking the wrong guys if you know what I mean."

Dave smiled at her as he ran his fingers across her cheek, "Yeah…I do. And I won't be one of those guys I promise."

Sasha beamed at that and nodded as she smiled up at Dave. Without another moment's hesitation Dave leaned in and kissed her. Sasha felt as if an electric current was passing through her body as Dave's hands snaked around her and slowly made their way down her body. She gasped as he picked her up and she wrapped her legs around his waist as he carried her over to the galley table. He gently laid her down and followed her, moving over top of her constantly as he deepened their kiss. Sasha was shocked how his hands seemed to be everywhere at once and as they caressed her most sensitive areas she found it harder and harder to maintain control of the situation. She didn't even realize that she had lost her shirt and her sweats until her back touched the table and a shock of cold jolted her. Dave smiled at her and gave her a wink before he finished what he had started…

DCDCDCDCDCDCDCDCDC

Meanwhile, over on the Time Bandit, Andy was starting to step it up on his flirting techniques with the stubborn and headstrong Maggie. He had gone below to get a hat that he had bought with his brother as a sort of joke back on the shore.

The second he re-entered the wheelhouse, Maggie was doubled over with laughter. Andy started doing the crab dance while wearing his rather eccentric crab hat. The crab's stuffed legs bounced on his head comically and Maggie laughed so hard she started crying.

Andy couldn't help it and broke down and started laughing with her. After they managed to compose themselves Andy sauntered over to where Maggie was settled in the co-captain's chair. Maggie giggled as he raised an eyebrow suggestively and slid up to her. But the second he got close to her face and was about to kiss her, she pulled away quickly.

"Oh, Maggie I'm sorry, I don't know what I was…"

"No, no Andy it's not you," murmured Maggie miserably as she looked away, "Trust me…its not _you_."

Andy frowned and gave her a confused look, "Well…what is it then?"

Maggie glanced at him and gave him what Andy was convinced was the most heart-breaking, sad look he had ever seen in his life.

"I…I was abused by my ex-boyfriend," she whispered as she looked away quickly, "And…I just kind of panic whenever I get close to someone. I'm so sorry, Andy…I really am."

"Don't apologize for that!" exclaimed Andy as he brushed a stray strand of dark hair behind her ear, "Don't you dare apologize to me for that. I'm so sorry hunny. That shouldn't have happened to someone as beautiful as you. That's why you're so distant and stubborn huh?"

Maggie smirked slightly and nodded, "Yeah…I guess so."

"Well you wanna know something?" asked Andy as he looked her in the eyes, "I'm not going to give up on you. I'll take it slow…as slow as it takes. I really like you, Maggie and I want to prove to you that not all guys are like your ex. I promise I'll do whatever it takes to win you over."

Maggie's eyes grew watery as she gazed back at Andy. After a few moments she nodded, "Okay…I can't promise it'll be easy and I don't blame you if you want to give up…"

"Oh trust me sweetheart," interrupted Andy, "I never give up…"

DCDCDCDCDCDCDCDCDCDC

The crew of the Wizard gathered in the galley for midnight meal in-between strings. They were all dead tired and starting to grow a bit cranky as time went on.

Crosby and Jenny were busy filling plates with food and giving each other flirtatious glances the entire time. The rest of the crew was not oblivious to this; even though they were dead tired they still couldn't help but notice the looks and the light touches that were exchanged between the two. The snickered and nudged each other as Crosby gave Jenny a wink and she blushed at the sight.

Crosby glanced over and saw the crew looking at them. He scowled at them and rolled his eyes. After he and Jenny finished serving the food, Crosby nudged Jenny and motioned for her to follow him. Jenny nodded and grabbed their plates while Crosby grabbed their drinks and they left the galley. They went into Jenny's private stateroom and settled down on the floor to eat.

"So…why aren't we eating with the crew?" she asked innocently as they ate.

"Um, well they were just getting on my nerves that's all," replied Crosby without looking up at her.

Jenny smiled to herself, "You mean that they were picking on us for flirting with each other?" she asked rather forwardly.

Crosby felt his face turn red and nodded sheepishly, "Yeah…yeah I guess so."

Jenny laughed as she leaned forward and brushed a small piece of macaroni off of his scruff.

"Well, we could always just tell them that we are interested in each other and that we're taking it slow," she offered.

Crosby's eyes grew wide with astonishment, "Wait…are you saying that you_ want_ to, well…you know…"

"Date?" finished Jenny with a smirk of amusement.

"Um, yeah…do you want to date?"

Jenny nodded, "Yes, yes I do Crosby LeVeen. I think we'd make a good couple. You're a kind-hearted man who has the cutest boyish moments and desperately needs a woman in his life to keep him in check…and clean apparently," she said as she brushed another piece of macaroni off of his shirt.

Crosby smirked and glanced away sheepishly while Jenny cleaned up his shirt, "Yeah I guess you're right…I do need you don't I?"

Jenny paused for a second and looked up at him, her eyes bright with happiness at what he had just said. Crosby leaned forward and kissed her lightly, pulling away as he gave her a scrutinizing look, trying to figure out if what he had just done was okay. Jenny smiled slightly and leaned in to kiss him back. Crosby felt as if time stopped as he kissed this beautiful woman. It couldn't get any better than this…

DCDCDCDCDCDCDCDC

Sig was going insane. Making out with Amber in his chair was nice but he was starting to crave more and by the way she was moving he figured she was too. He grabbed her legs and guided them around his waist. Amber quickly realized what he wanted and she gripped him tightly around the waist with her legs. Sig stood up and carried her, slowly making his way down the stairs. His lips never left hers as he fumbled for the doorknob on his stateroom door.

The second they were inside, Sig closed the door behind them and locked it. He carried her over to his bed and laid her down gently. As he climbed on top of her, Amber felt herself beginning to get excited. Here she was about to make love with the sexiest man she had ever met in her entire life. As Sig started taking off his clothes and hers, she knew that she had died and gone to heaven. His hands trailed down her body, causing her to squirm and moan slightly at the touch.

Outside in the hall, Edgar yawned and stretched as he made his way down the hall to the galley for a quick bite to eat. He scratched his head and glanced around sleepily as he stumbled along down the hall. Suddenly he heard voices. It sounded like moaning. He looked around wildly wondering if someone was hurt, then he realized where the noises were coming from.

"Oh dear Lord," he muttered under his breath as he shook his head, "Can't they at least be quiet? Sheesh!"

Although deep down Edgar was happy for his older brother. It had been awhile since Sig's wife had left him. She had had enough with the fishing and the months that he had to be away from her and their kids so she called it quits. Since that day Sig hadn't really been the same…and now he had finally found someone who made him happy. In Edgar's mind this was way overdue. He smirked to himself as he took a swig of coffee.

"Still…they could at least tone it down a bit…"

DCDCDCDCDCDCDCDCDC

**LOL!!! So hope everyone enjoyed it!! **

**Reviews are SUPER appreciated!!!**


	6. Storm Warning

**Thanks so much for all the reviews!!!**

**Storm Warning**

Just north of the fishing grounds a massive storm system was brewing while the boats continued hauling gear. As the storm drew closer, weather alerts started going off in every wheelhouse across the Bering Sea…

On the Cornelia Marie Dave and Sasha were giving each other a quick kiss before Dave headed outside with the rest of the crew to haul gear.

Up in the wheelhouse Phil was lighting up yet another cigarette as he studied his plotter thoughtfully, wondering where he would set if this string didn't hit it. He sighed wearily and shook his head, trying to keep himself awake. Just then, a loud beeping noise came from the radio. Phil jumped slightly and then reached up to adjust the volume.

"The National Weather Service has issued a severe storm warning…"

As Phil listened to the weather alert, his eyes grew wide in astonishment and horror.

"God have mercy," he mumbled under his breath as he grabbed the loud hailer.

Down on deck Josh and Jake were shooting glares at Dave from their station at the bait area.

"What is your problem?" demanded Dave with a victorious smirk.

"Shut up," muttered Josh.

"Yeah we know what you did…or rather _who_ you did," sneered Jake.

Dave only laughed at that, "Oh really? And how do you know this?"

"The stupid smirk on your face for one," grumbled Josh, "And Sasha practically dancing across the galley kind of gave it away."

"And the stupid little looks you give each other," muttered Jake in disgust.

Freddy laughed loudly from his spot near the coiler, "I can smell your jealousy from here boys!"

Dave smirked as Freddy gave him a friendly nod, "That's right, Dave! I _told_ you that she'd pick a guy like us!"

Just then, Phil's voice boomed from the loud hailer.

"Hey guys…I'm gonna need you all to start tying things down and get back inside as soon as you can."

"What?" exclaimed Corey in disgust, "Why?"

"Dude we were just about to haul the gear!" argued Jake in protest.

"Shut up and listen would you?" growled Phil, "There's a huge storm coming in and it's gonna be blowin' like hell out here so I need you to shut your mouths and just do what I've asked."

Jake grumbled under his breath as Josh sighed and shook his head. Freddy and Dave exchanged worried looks. Phil usually didn't snap like that to the whole crew unless something was really wrong…

DCDCDCDCDCDCDCDCDCDC

Over on the Time Bandit, Andy was at the helm and Jonathan was sitting over in the co-captain's chair. Maggie was sitting up on the counter in between the two, watching the guys moving around on the deck as they hauled pots full of crab, re-baited them, and set them back.

Once in awhile Andy would glance back at Maggie and give her a kind smile. Maggie appreciated his kindness and understanding. She was really starting to like this goofy, fun-loving captain and wanted desperately to get over her fear and act on it. But Andy was sweet and patient enough to let her set the pace.

Jonathan was smirking to himself across the wheelhouse as he watched his younger brother shoot another smile in Maggie's direction. Privately he started taking bets in his mind as to how much longer it would take before the two finally did it and chucked to himself.

Just then the weather radio went off. Andy's goofy, happy grin instantly disappeared as he turned up the volume to listen to the weather alert. Maggie's face went white as they listened to the terrifying news. She shot Andy a terrified look as he swallowed nervously.

"Jon get the guys to tie down the equipment and get inside…this isn't gonna be pretty…"

DCDCDCDCDCDCDCDCDCDCDC

Keith cursed loudly up in the wheelhouse as he too listened to the weather alert. Grumbling irritably, he tensed as a wave smashed into the wheelhouse. He didn't need the weather radio to warn him that a massive storm was moving in…they were already heading right into it.

Jenny braced herself as the wave crashed over the rail and wiped out a couple of the deckhands. They cursed irritably as they stood up and headed back over to the rail to continue hauling gear.

"This is getting bad fast," murmured Jenny as Crosby wandered over to where she was working at the bait station.

"Yeah you're tellin' me!" laughed Crosby as he shook his head, "That wave nearly took me out!"

Jenny knocked on a wooden plank and narrowed her eyes at him playfully, "Don't jinx yourself!"

Crosby smirked as he pulled her into a hug, just as Keith's voice sounded from the loud hailer.

"Guys…batten down the hatches and get in as fast as you can and I mean_ fast_," said Keith with a twinge of anxiety in his voice.

The crew glanced at each other worriedly as they started tying down the gear and making their way into the safety of the galley. Crosby shot Jenny a worried look as he led her inside.

"I'm kinda nervous about this one to be honest," he whispered in her ear, "Keith sounds worried about the storm."

"Well why wouldn't he be?" asked Jenny, trying to sound realistic, "I mean it looks like it's gonna be a big storm."

Crosby forced a smile and nodded, but deep down he had a really bad feeling about this storm…

DCDCDCDCDCDCDCDCDCDC

The crew of the Northwestern was hauling their set back pots and coming up with more than enough crab to line their tanks. Edgar gave a wild yell of excitement as he ripped off the top shell of one of the crabs with his teeth. Jake gave him a disgusted look and Edgar tossed the crab at him.

However all of these things were oblivious to the couple up in the wheelhouse. Sig was rather occupied at the moment and not with fishing. He breathed hard as Amber pulled away from him for a moment. Sig smiled at her as she sat on his lap, straddling him in his captain's chair. She smirked back at him and shook her head.

"What?" asked Sig with a cheshire grin.

"You're having the time of your life right now aren't you?" she asked coyly as she slid forward, causing both of them to gasp.

"Mmm you have no idea," growled Sig as the two lovers continued their actions while the crew set back the next pot.

Sig groaned in complaint when he had to move away from Amber slightly to throttle up and adjust the direction of the boat so they could reach the next pot. Amber just laughed slightly and made up for the momentary loss of contact.

Just then the weather radio went off. Sig growled loudly as Amber quickly slid off of him and let him reach up to turn up the volume. They listened in shock to the weather alert and shared scared looks before Sig grabbed the loud hailer.

"Guys, finish up and get inside…we got a storm coming and it's a bad one…"

DCDCDCDCDCDCDC

**HEHE! Hope you liked it! So just FYI I'm not going to be able to update as frequently as I have been because I have to start getting things organized to head back to college. That and I'll be gone for a week or so to go on vacation with the family. But I'll update whenever I can!! Thanks for reviewing!**


	7. Change

**Change**

Sasha braced herself as the boat took another hard roll. She leaned against the wall and waited for the boat to level out before she continued her trek to the galley. Dave, Jake, Josh, and Freddy were sitting behind the table attempting to eat a normal breakfast. As the boat rolled again, Freddy grabbed his drink before it fell off the table. He sighed and shook his head, "Storm's a bad one boys…it's gonna get worse believe me! I can smell it!"

Josh smirked, "You can smell it?" he asked doubtfully, "Like my dad can smell where the crab is because of their fart bubbles?"

Freddy dumped his cup full of water on Josh who shouted in protest, "Smartass," grumbled Freddy, "And trust me this thing is gonna be wicked. Just you wait you'll see!"

Sasha rolled her eyes at them as she stumbled along toward the fridge to grab a drink. Dave watched her carefully, tensing every time she faltered. Sasha made her way back to the table and settled in next to Dave. He wrapped an arm around her waist and pulled her closer to him, shooting Jake and Josh a smug look. Jake narrowed his eyes at Dave playfully and Josh just sighed and looked away.

Sasha smirked at them and then looked up to meet Dave's adoring gaze. After years of dating guys that used her and abused her she was happy that she had found Dave. He was so different than them. He really did care about her…she could see it in his eyes. Dave smiled warmly at her and leaned down to give her a kiss.

Just then another wave slammed into the boat and the deckhands tensed warily as the boat rocked. A cry of pain sounded from the hallway and Sasha instinctively leapt up and ran to help whoever was injured. As she opened the door she saw Corey lying on the ground clutching his head and moaning in pain.

"Corey!" exclaimed Freddy as he and Dave looked over Sasha's shoulder to see who it was.

"I'm going to need you guys to help me get him into his bed," instructed Sasha, reacting calmly to the situation, "It could be a minor bump but we need to make sure. Okay, careful now!"

Dave and Freddy gently lifted Corey up and carried him into his stateroom. After they laid him on his bunk Sasha shoed them out. The last thing she needed was four men standing around her and breathing down her neck.

"I promise I'll let you know how he is in a few minutes," she said as she closed the door behind them. She turned back to Corey and sighed as she began to inspect his wounded head…

DCDCDCDCDCDCDCDCDCDC

Maggie was pacing nervously in the wheelhouse while the Time Bandit began to roll hard as wave after wave pounded into the boat. Andy shot her a worried look and frowned.

"Hey, Maggie hun you may want to take a seat…this is getting bad fast," warned Andy as he glanced out the window again, tensing as a wave smacked the wheelhouse.

Maggie braced herself against the cabinets as the boat rolled again. She gave Andy a terrified look and shook her head, "No I need to keep moving," she muttered, her voice shaky, "I've never been through something like this…and well I'm a little scared and pacing makes my heart stop beating so much."

Andy sighed, "Come here," he said as he beckoned her over to him.

Maggie slowly made her way over to him and gasped in surprise when he pulled her into a big, bear hug. She felt her body tense up instinctively and part of her wanted to panic and pull away, but another part of her never wanted to move from this spot…and that part of her was winning out. She wrapped her arms around him and buried her face in his soft jacket. Andy smiled slightly as he stroked her hair, keeping one eye on the bow of the boat to watch for any rogue waves.

After a moment Maggie pulled away and her green eyes looked up to meet Andy's brown ones.

"Thanks," she murmured quietly.

"No problem," whispered Andy as he sat back down in his chair. He gave her an inquisitive look, then sat back and patted his lap, "You know…if you wanted to sit down."

Maggie smirked as she slowly slid onto his lap, "Well…I suppose I have to sit down anyway right? Don't want to fall and hurt myself or anything."

"Nope," murmured Andy as he wrapped an arm around her waist, "We wouldn't want that at all…"

DCDCDCDCDCDCDCDCDCDCDC

The Wizard was taking a beating as they plowed through the rising seas. Keith cursed as a huge wave swamped the deck, making it disappear under the water for a full minute before the bow pushed back through and broke the surface.

Below deck the crew had all gathered into one stateroom to ride out the storm. They had rolled up survival suits next to them as they sat around in a circle-like formation and gave each other terrified looks.

Jenny was leaning against Crosby. He had his arms wrapped around her, trying to comfort her the best that he could. She had never been through anything like this and he could only imagine the terror that she was feeling. The horrified look that crossed her beautiful face when Keith told them to have the survival suits ready tore through his heart. He wanted to protect her…keep her safe. The feeling was almost overwhelming.

As the boat rolled sharply to starboard the crew tensed and grabbed onto whatever they could to keep themselves from falling. Crosby kept one arm around Jenny's waist and he grabbed onto the bunk with other arm. Jenny whimpered slightly and clung on to Crosby as the boat slowly began to right itself. After the crew settled back down, Monte and Crosby shared a knowing look. It had taken the boat a heck of a long time to right itself and the crew was beginning to get seriously worried…

DCDCDCDCDCDCDCDCDC

Amber had gone below deck to check on the crew. She found them all gathered in the galley grabbing a quick bite to eat, attempting not to lose their food as the boat rolled violently.

"Hey look who's takin' a break from the wheelhouse!" announced Edgar as Norman let out a cat-call and the rest of the crew whistled.

Amber blushed and rolled her eyes at them, "Yeah, yeah whatever. Look Sig says this thing's gonna get bad really fast and he wanted me to tell you all to hurry up with whatever you're doing and get somewhere safe like in a stateroom or something."

"Oh alright," muttered Matt, "We're movin', we're movin'."

"Thanks guys," replied Amber with a kind smile, "I don't want to have to use any of my medical skills if we can avoid it."

She turned to go back up the stairs and just as she reached the top, the boat took a hard roll to port. Amber was thrown into the side of the stairwell and hit her head on the wall. She cried out in pain as she landed on the stairs, but caught herself before any more damage could be done. She felt the world spin around her and she shook her head slightly, attempting to clear it.

Sig had heard a loud thump from the stairwell as the boat listed hard to port. He waited until he was able to right the boat before he went down to see what it was. His eyes flew open in shock when he saw Amber slowly stand up, her hand holding the back of her head in pain.

"What the hell?" exclaimed Sig as she finished climbing the stairs and entered the wheelhouse.

"It's no big deal," grunted Amber as she leaned on the counter, "Just bumped my head a bit but I'm fine."

She glanced up and flinched in surprise when she saw an angry glint in Sig's eyes.

"What?" she demanded, immediately going into a defensive tone.

"Oh nothing," snapped Sig as he turned away from her, "Just that you weren't paying attention to what you were doing and got yourself hurt. Not like it's a big deal or anything."

"Excuse me?" asked Amber, feeling slightly hurt and very angry at Sig's tone, "You're the one that wanted me to go down there to check on the crew!"

Sig shot her an angry glare, "I didn't ask you to go be stupid and get hurt!"

"As if I could have predicted that wave!" Amber shot back, feeling her eyes begin to sting as she fought back the tears.

Sig threw his hand up in disgust and waved her off, "Just go back down there with the rest of the crew!" he snapped.

"What the hell is your problem!" exclaimed Amber, a sharp feeling of betrayal overwhelming her.

"You are my problem right now!" shouted Sig, "Now get the hell out of my wheelhouse, _now_!"

Amber flinched at the dangerous gleam in Sig's eyes. She looked away sharply so he wouldn't see the tears forming in her eyes as she slowly made her way down the stairs. Her heart felt like it was being ripped apart and she wondered briefly if all of this had been too good to be true. What if this was just a meaningless fling? Her heart crumbled at the thought as she retreated into the stateroom where the rest of the crew had gathered…

DCDCDCDCDCDCDC

**As always, thank you for the reviews!!!**


	8. Jealousy

**Thanks to the brilliance of my good friend Emily (BrokenHeartBiret) there will be a sequel to this story! I'm estimating that after this chapter there will be one more and then I will start on the sequel. It will center mainly on Amber and Sig but I'll keep you up to date on the other girls and their relationships as well. It'll be called "You Could Be Happy" so keep your eyes peeled! Also, the title for the sequel (You Could Be Happy) is also a great idea thanks to Emily!! So send her a message once I post the sequel to thank her for her ideas because without them the story wouldn't have been this amazing!!! I LOVE YOU EMILY!!! **

**Thank you to all who have been reviewing!!!!! I love you guys! **

**Jealousy**

"I'm fine Sasha stop hovering over me like I'm gonna die or something!" protested Corey as Sasha inspected his head for the third time.

Sasha narrowed her eyes at him threateningly as she ignored his comment and gave him a fresh pack of frozen peas.

"Corey I know you're fine I just want to make sure that there isn't any more damage than what we can see, okay? Patience…that's all I ask for is a little patience."

Dave smirked as he stood in the doorway watching her tend to Corey's bruised head.

"Well the good news is that we're almost out of this wicked storm," he said as he wrapped an arm around her waist the second she finished up with Corey.

"Good!" exclaimed Corey as he stood up, much to Sasha's displeasure, "Then we can finish hauling this damn gear and get back to port!"

Dave frowned at that as he glanced down at Sasha with sadness in his eyes. Going back to port meant going their separate ways until the opelio crab season began in January…and Dave Millman wasn't so sure he could go that long without his Sasha by his side…

DCDCDCDCDCDCDCDC

Maggie breathed a sigh of relief as the Time Bandit skirted its way along the edge of the storm and out of harm's way. She was still settled comfortably on Andy's lap and leaned back to lay against him as he too sighed in relief. The forty foot waves dwindled down to twenty footers and eventually ten foot waves as they pressed forward to their last string of pots.

Andy smiled as he wrapped his arms around Maggie and leaned down to breath in the clean scent of her auburn hair. She looked up, her brilliant green gaze causing his heart to falter and his breath to catch in his throat. He smiled down at her as he gently kissed the top of her head. Then, he began to wonder exactly how far he was allowed to go now. He remembered when Maggie's terrified gaze stopped his advances earlier that season and he remembered when she explained why she was scared of getting close to a guy again. An intense anger had clouded his vision as he pictured himself throttling her ex who had hurt her. He wondered quietly how in the world a man could hurt a woman like Maggie. Sure she was stubborn and hard-headed but that's what he liked about her. She knew what she wanted and what she didn't want and wasn't afraid to let him know.

Andy took a deep breath and decided to go ahead and try it. Worse-case-scenario she'd pull away and tell him she wasn't ready so there wasn't really anything to lose. He reached down and lifted her chin up so that she was looking right in his eyes. He leaned down slowly and hovered over her lips, trying to gauge her reaction. He was surprised when he saw her eyes close as she leaned forward the rest of the way, closing the distance between them, and kissed him. It took him a moment to realize what had happened before he was able to kiss her back. His heart soared with happiness as he held her close.

Just then, Jonathan burst into the wheelhouse, yelling, "Hey little brother! How's it goin' up…"

Jonathan paused when he saw Maggie pull away from Andy and jump up off of his lap. Andy's eyes were as round as saucers as he sat there looking at his older brother in shock.

Jonathan started laughing loudly, letting loose a long, hissing-like laugh as he leaned on the counter for support.

"Oh you crazy kids," he said as he smiled broadly at them, "Oh don't you mind me…get on with it, I'll be downstairs…"

Jonathan laughed the entire way down the stairs and into the galley while Maggie and Andy exchanged amused looks.

Without a word Maggie climbed back onto Andy's lap and started kissing him again. As they made out Andy decided to try and test his boundaries. He reached up and unbuttoned the first button of her blouse. Maggie moaned quietly, encouraging him to continue. Andy didn't need any more encouragement as he quickly took off her blouse while she helped him unbuckle his jeans….

DCDCDCDCDCDCDCDCDCDC

Jenny never thought the boat would stop rocking so violently. The Wizard was the last boat to pull out of the storm and the crew was more than happy to start walking around without falling all over the place.

Crosby held Jenny's hand as they joined the crew in the galley. The crew looked up from their meal and smirked when they saw Crosby holding Jenny's hand. Crosby ignored them as he and Jenny made themselves a plate of food. Jenny started walking back to the stateroom, but Crosby grabbed her hand to stop her.

"Let's eat with the crew," he suggested quietly.

Jenny raised an eyebrow at that, "But they'll give us a hard time, remember?"

Crosby shrugged, "Who cares? They're just jealous that I got myself a beautiful girl."

Jenny blushed as she smiled shyly at him. He led her back to the table, much to the crew's astonishment, and sat down. The crew didn't breathe a word as they watched in silent surprise. Crosby smiled to himself, knowing that the crew didn't have anything to say about them. He glanced at Jenny from across the table and winked at her in front of the whole crew. Again, no one said a word. Crosby took a deep breath and sighed…life was just getting better and better…

DCDCDCDCDCDCDCDCDC

Edgar knew something was wrong the moment Amber entered the stateroom with the rest of the crew. Her eyes were red and she looked very upset. He didn't want to say anything in front of the crew so he waited until the storm had passed and the crew went to their own staterooms to catch a quick nap. He watched as Amber made a bee-line to the galley and got up to follow her.

"Hey," he said as he slid in behind her, "How's it going?"

Amber was standing over the sink drinking a glass of water. She glanced over at him and just shook her head.

"That bad, huh?" asked Edgar as he walked over to her, "What'd he say?"

Amber smiled sadly, "How do you know it was Sig?"

Edgar shot her a look, "Oh come on…the only person that can make someone that sad is Sig Hansen."

Amber smiled for a brief second and nodded, "Yeah it was Sig…he yelled at me because I slipped on the stairs on the way up to the wheelhouse."

"That's it?" asked Edgar, "That's why you're upset?"

Amber's eyes gleamed in anger as she shot Edgar a look, "No there's more to it than that!"

Edgar held up his hands in surrender, "Whoa, okay...sorry."

Amber sighed and forced herself to calm down, "No I'm sorry…it's just that, well, when every man in your life yells at you or beats you then you start to get a little upset when it happens again."

Edgar's eyes instantly softened as he gazed at Amber, "You've been abused?"

Amber sneered, "My whole life. My dad…boyfriends…my mom's boyfriends."

Edgar frowned as he walked forward and extended his arms. Amber smiled sadly as she moved into his embrace. They stood there for a moment before Amber broke down and started sobbing. Edgar felt his heart break for the poor woman as he held her there in the galley, her tears soaking his t-shirt. Just then a loud beeping noise interrupted them.

"Get out on the deck and get out now!" screamed Sig on the loud hailer.

The crew started cursing as they stumbled out of the staterooms.

"I just lay down!" protested Matt, "Don't we get some kind of break!"

Nick snickered and muttered something about needing an Advil while Jake and Norman groggily started throwing on their sweatshirts.

"Guess I'd better go," murmured Edgar as he lightly stroked Amber's blonde hair.

Amber nodded as she pulled away, "Um, yeah you better go…thanks Edgar. Thanks for caring."

Edgar smiled as he ran his fingers along her jaw line, "No problem. Hey if you get bored in here you could always come out and watch us. You'll have to stand near the bait area to keep from getting drenched…and to keep Sig from being pissy."

Amber smiled and nodded, "Thanks Edgar. I'll go out now actually. I'll just splash some water on my face and grab a hoodie real quick."

Amber retreated to her stateroom and quickly threw on a hoodie, glancing at herself in the mirror. She frowned when she saw how red her eyes were and gently wiped at them with a damp washcloth.

The second she emerged out of the galley she felt the rush of cold air overwhelm her. She shivered slightly as she leaned against the wall near the bait area and watched the guys as they prepared to haul what was hopefully the last string of the season.

Edgar glanced back and saw Amber on the deck. She gave him a little wave and he waved back with a smile on his face. Meanwhile up in the wheelhouse Sig was watching the crew's actions from his monitor and saw Edgar smile and wave to someone. His eyes narrowed as he realized who it must be. He felt a slight pang of guilt for yelling at her earlier but he brushed it aside and turned his attention back to fishing.

As the crew hauled the first pot, the sounds of overjoyed deckhands made Sig whirl around in his chair to see what was going on. Sure enough the pot was jam-packed with large, red king crab. Sig smiled slightly when he realized that his would indeed be their final string of the season. He glanced back down at the monitor and frowned when he saw Edgar lift a massive crab and run with it over toward the bait area. A shrill shriek filled the air as Amber tried to run away from Edgar and the crab. Edgar finally relented and dropped the crab into the tank. He turned around and shot Amber a grin as she chastised him. Edgar proceeded to run back over to her and pick her up, carrying her like a baby, and ran over to the tank. Amber screamed as Edgar held her over the frigid water of the crab tank and pretended like he was going to drop her in. The crew roared with laughter at Edgar's antics as he sat Amber back down on her feat. She scowled at him and he just threw an arm around her shoulders and gave her a friendly squeeze.

Sig felt an unexpected rage course through his body at the sight. He wasn't quite sure what had brought on this intense feeling until he saw Edgar carrying Amber and laughing with her. Jealousy. That's what he was feeling. He grumbled irritably to himself as he tried to shake it off but every time he turned around or looked at the monitor, Edgar was picking on or touching Amber and Sig's rage grew and grew…

DCDCDCDCDCDCDCDCDCDC

**Thanks so much for reading!! PLEASE REVIEW! **

**Like I said I think it'll be one more chapter before the sequel (could be two we'll just wait and see). But don't forget to give a shout out to BrokenHeartBiret for me!! I'm starting to use her ideas and she deserves the credit!!! Thanks so much Emily!!!! : ) **

**Thanks again for reading and reviewing!!!**


	9. Just Need a Little Elbow Room

**Just Need a Little Elbow Room**

Snow fell lightly from the sky in Dutch Harbor as the crab fleet made their way back home. The captains and crews had finished their final offloads and were more than ready to head back into port and hit up the local bar for some good times and fish stories with the other captains and crews of the fleet.

The Elbow Room staff was already overworked as they moved in-between the rowdy crabbers, filling up glasses with beer and other alcoholic beverages. Once in awhile the bell above the bar would clang loudly and a cheer would go up around the room as the captains bought drinks for the whole crowd.

In a far back corner of the Elbow Room sat two women, looking slightly overwhelmed as they watched the antics of the drunken crabbers.

"Can you believe we survived this?" exclaimed Sasha, beaming happily. She glanced over to where the Cornelia Marie crew was laughing it up with some of the Northwestern's crew.

Amber smirked slightly at her friend when she saw a rather attractive blonde deckhand turn and give her a wave.

"Well somebody had a good time," she teased Sasha.

Sasha's grin went from one ear to the other as she gave her friend a sheepish look, "Yeah…what can I say? He's pretty amazing."

Amber was happy for her friend but inside she felt absolutely dreadful. She saw Sig talking with Phil and her heart fell. She looked away quickly, hoping that her friend hadn't noticed the sadness in her eyes.

Sasha frowned and gave Amber a very concerned look, "What's wrong?"

Amber glanced at Sasha and sighed. She should have known her friend would have picked up on her sadness right away.

"Um, well let's just say that things don't always work out," she murmured quietly.

Before Sasha could ask what she meant by that, the doors to the Elbow Room swung open and an even louder roar of excitement drowned out their voices as the Time Bandit and Wizard crews joined in on the party.

Two young women quickly made their way to the back of the Elbow Room, trying to escape the throng of crabbers.

"Hey look at that!" exclaimed Sasha, "There's two more nurses right there!"

Amber craned her neck to see what Sasha was all excited about. Sure enough there were two rather overwhelmed looking nurses heading over in their direction. They saw Amber and Sasha and breathed a sigh of relief.

"Thank goodness!" exclaimed one of the girls with auburn hair and bright green eyes, "I thought we were gonna be stuck with these guys all night!"

The other girl sneered, "You'd like that from what I've heard," she joked as she brushed a stray strand of dark brown hair behind her ear.

The girl with green eyes nudged her playfully as she turned back to Amber and Sasha, "Hi, I'm Jenny. I was the nurse on the Wizard and this is Maggie. She was on the Time Bandit."

Amber and Sasha moved over to make room for the two nurses to sit down at their table.

"Good to meet you! I'm Sasha and I was on the Cornelia Marie. This is Amber and she's with the Northwestern."

The nurses shook hands and settled down at the table, glancing back at the crabbers and rolling their eyes in exasperation.

"They're all a bunch of boys," muttered Jenny, smiling slightly.

"Yeah but you can't help but love them!" replied Maggie as she glanced over at Andy Hillstrand and smiled.

"No, no you can't," said Sasha, glancing over at Dave Millman for the hundredth time.

Jenny smirked, "Yeah they're alright," she said nonchalantly as she looked over at deckhand Crosby LeVeen.

Amber stayed silent and Sasha nudged her, "What's with you Amber? Oh come on now don't tell me you didn't have the hots for at least one of those cuties there on the Northwestern!"

The nurses giggled like highschool girls and leaned forward to hear Amber better.

Amber wanted a hole to open up in the ground right there and then and swallow her whole. She glanced around at the happy faces of the other nurses who were obviously over-joyed and in love. A pang of sadness hit Amber as she realized how desperately she wished she could share in their excitement.

"Um, well it's like I said Sasha…sometimes things don't work out," she said quietly.

"Oh dear," said Jenny as she put a hand on Amber's shoulder, "One of them broke your heart?"

Amber smiled sadly, "Yeah…something like that."

"Who?" asked Maggie.

Amber glanced around at the three nurses before she looked over to the Northwestern crew. Her eyes scanned them all and stopped when she saw Sig. A collective gasp from all three nurses caused her to look away sharply.

"No way!" exclaimed Sasha as she gave her friend a startled look, "Sig Hansen!?"

"Wow! How in the world did you manage _that_?" asked Maggie with a grin, "He's quite the catch!"

Amber smiled slightly and looked down, "Yeah it was fun…but it didn't work out."

"What do you mean?" pressed Jenny, "What happened?"

Amber shot Sasha a sad look before she spoke, "Well…he yelled at me. And it's kind of a long story but I can't handle guys yelling at me. I know it sounds crazy…but it always starts with the yelling. Then there's the hitting, then it gets worse and worse. It always does."

Sasha nodded knowingly as she held her friend's hand. Amber pulled a letter out of her pocket with her other hand and held it for a moment. She gave the nurses a final glance before she stood up to leave.

"Where are you going?" asked Sasha, concern evident in her voice.

"I have to go do something before I leave," whispered Amber as a deep sadness overwhelmed her.

"What do you mean?" demanded Sasha as she began to panic a little, "You're coming back for Opelio season right?"

Amber shook her head sadly, "No…no I can't. This is it for me. It was nice meeting you girls."

Amber turned and went out the back door as quickly as she could just as she felt the tears begin to fall down her face…

DCDCDCDCDCDCDCDC

It was getting really late and the crews had begun to file out of the Elbow Room and retreat back to their boats to spend the night.

Sig Hansen sighed wearily as he climbed onto the Northwestern. Edgar was on deck cleaning up a few things before he went to bed.

"Hey," he said, greeting his older brother as he climbed onto the boat.

Sig met Edgar's eyes and that old feeling of anger welled up inside of him again. He shot Edgar a furious look as he remembered all the touching and hugs and little pranks Edgar had been playing on Amber. Edgar took a step back and blinked in surprise. He wasn't expecting Sig to act like this.

"Um, Sig? Is everything okay?" he asked hesitantly.

"Is everything okay?" seethed Sig as he took a step toward Edgar, "Is everything okay? You flirt with my woman and then have the nerve to ask me if everything is _okay_!?"

Edgar gave Sig a very confused look, "What the hell are you talking about?"

"You know what I'm talking about!" roared Sig as he walked forward, "I saw you two out on the deck! I saw how you looked at her!"

"Damn it Sig calm down!" sputtered Edgar as he backed up until he reached the rail, "You're insane! I wasn't flirting with her, I was trying to cheer her up after you yelled at the poor girl!"

Sig's rage faltered for a moment and he stopped his advance. He studied Edgar's face for a moment and realized that his brother was telling him the truth.

"I wouldn't do that to you…you know that," said Edgar, sounding hurt by his brother's accusations.

Sig sighed and took a deep breath, running his hands through his thinning blonde hair. He glanced back at Edgar and felt a pang of guilt when he saw the fear and hurt in his younger brother's eyes.

"Yeah…yeah I know," he murmured, "I'm sorry."

Edgar relaxed slightly, "Yeah…don't mention it," he replied quietly, still slightly unnerved by his brother's explosive anger.

"Have you seen her?" asked Sig after a moment.

Edgar shook his head, "No last time I saw her she was talking to some of the other nurses at the Elbow Room but that was hours ago."

Sig nodded and turned to go back up into the wheelhouse. He shook his head and wondered what the hell was going on with him. He only yelled at his crew when he was really upset and now he was yelling at everyone for every little thing. He'd screamed at Matt on the way back because the poor guy slipped on the deck. No wonder Amber was so upset.

He sighed as he sat down in his captain's chair and closed his eyes for a brief moment. When he opened them he looked down to see a letter sitting on the console in front of him. He frowned as he picked it up and opened it.

Sig,

I can't do this anymore. I'm leaving so start looking for another nurse. I just can't handle being treated like that…not again. Don't try to find me because you won't. I'm not going home I'm going somewhere else. Somewhere I can be alone and try to figure things out again. So this is goodbye.

-Amber

Sig felt his heart drop as he read the letter. She was leaving because of him. She had been hurt like this before. He cursed himself as he sat the letter down and rubbed his tired eyes. She told him not to go looking for her, but everything in him said to try. Suddenly he wondered if she could still be in Dutch. Maybe she was still at the airport.

He jumped up out of his chair and ran back outside. Edgar looked up in surprise and tensed, prepared for Sig to unleash his wrath on him again.

"Edgar, watch the boat!" he shouted as he started to climb over the rail.

Edgar frowned and watched as his brother leapt onto the dock.

"Where are you going?" he shouted.

"Amber's gone…and I'm going to do anything it takes to find her again…"

DCDCDCDCDCDCDDCDCDC

**And the tension mounts! I'm going to start working on the sequel as soon as possible (meaning tonight or tomorrow morning). Please send a shout out to Emily!!! (BrokenHeartBiret) for her AMAZING ideas!!! **

**Things to look forward to in the sequel: Amber's best friend Sasha is on the hunt for her friend and the other nurses decide to help her out. A new sisterhood will form while Sig searches for Amber. Along the way he begins to realize how much he truly loves her and Amber finds out some unexpected and life-changing news that could either draw them back together or force them apart for good. **

**The title of the story will be: You Could Be Happy**

**Thanks as always for reviewing!!!**


End file.
